I'm just saying that if you compare them to maybe... I don't know.. Seedstudio perhaps... there would clearly be a reason they would need to charge more for even the same parts. Like MAYBE they source parts from DIGI-KEY and don't buy enough to get a good price break. (who knows) Without even checking I'm pretty sure the landlord and the taxman take a bigger cut in the USA and *that* surely is in the "price" somewhere.

I'm not trying to justify being gouged price-wise. I would hardly consider using a single vendor for EVERYTHING I wanted and factoring cost is often a decision point related to who I'm buying from. There are other times when convenience and quality are part of the decision and not so much the cost.

I would buy their own designs on their site but leave the hardware (nuts bolts headers buttons etc) to local ACE or cheaper places.All those cheap parts are made in China. I am not concerned that if I don't buy expensive headers from SFE or Mouser, someone in the US will lose their jobs. A job created by selling overpriced items is not that secure anyway. But I do applaud the quality of SFE stuff and their own designs. I bought most my expensive toys from them, GPS, etc.

much of the stuff is not even their own designs, unless you count making a breakout board for a smd part, or directly coping out of the datasheet, or just putting the uno in a "brought to you by sparkfun" box

Yes but they are one of the only (if not the only in many cases) companies that does so, and from what I've heard from their founder - that's why Sparkfun was made - to make electronics more accessible. I agree some of their stuff is overpriced when compared to the same items' prices at digikey or some other hobby e-store, but the circuit designs they sell are special not because they came up with them (your right in saying most are from the datasheets), but because they sell them pre-made to the public.

I wouldn't call them overpriced, they have high prices but in my opinion they aren't exactly super high, an online shop in my country charges 18? for a base line picaxe, now that's over priced, sparkfun is like paradise compared to that shop.